The opposition to the expansion of the Algonquin Natural Gas Pipeline, managed by Spectra Energy, Inc., is growing, as the proposed upgrades to the pipeline become more imminent.

Those opposed to the pipeline cite the fact that pipelines leak and sometimes even explode.

On Jan. 26, a gas pipeline in Brooke County, West Virginia exploded, sending a ball of flames hundreds of feet into the air. No one was hurt in the incident, which remains under investigation. Three other incidents occurred on U.S. pipelines in January, including another explosions in Mississippi, a leak in Montana that spilled 50,000 gallons of crude oil into the Yellowstone River, and 3 million gallons of saltwater drilling waste that spilled from a North Dakota pipeline. Continue reading Fear of Explosions, Leaks Fuels Struggle Against Gas Pipelines→

When we heard in December that Governor Andrew Cuomo would prohibit high-volume hydraulic fracturing, many activists breathed a sigh of relief — it looked like a frack-free New York was becoming a reality. Unfortunately, New York is already being fracked, if you understand “fracking” to mean the full life cycle from drilling to transportation to consumption. Right now, there are many ongoing infrastructure campaigns that could use your support:

PORT AMBROSE

Liberty Natural Gas LLC (a shell corporation made up of anonymous Cayman Islands investors) is pushing a plan to build a liquified natural gas port called Port Ambrose in the New York Harbor. This project would bring dangerous, super-sized liquified natural gas tankers into the harbor at a rate of roughly one per week over the course of a year. In addition to the security risks associated with a highly volatile fuel and the danger to marine ecosystems, this project will create financial incentives for more fracking all over the Northeast. It is also being proposed in an area that is under consideration for building offshore wind power, which we desperately need. Continue reading New York’s Fracking Battles Heat Up→

In 2013, FERC began evaluating Spectra Energy’s proposal which would increase pipeline capacity to deliver gas to New England markets and include a new crossing of the Hudson River. It would also modify six existing compressors and build three new metering and regulating stations.

FERC Commissioners still have to make a final decision, but in recent years the agency has never failed to approve a major infrastructure project.